Fishermen often catch fish that are too small, out of season, not editable or they just do not want to keep. When these fish are reeled up from depth, the changes in pressure cause the internal organs and swim bladder to expand and the fish can not return back to its habitat if released. It will become a “floater” and die. This bloating condition is referred to as barotrauma.
There are currently several methods of treating barotrauma and returning fish to their habitat. One device is a venting tool that requires inserting a hollow needle into the fish's side, hitting the swim bladder to release the trapped air. The fish is then thrown back into the water to swim back to the bottom on its own. Venting is not always successful and incorrect venting can injure the fish causing it to die. There are several other devices that clamp on to the fish's mouth. These devices require a jerk on the line or the device has to hit the bottom to activate a release mechanism and free the fish. These devices can only return a single fish at a time. They depend upon a relatively complex clamping and release mechanism, which is not only costly to manufacture, but cumbersome to operate and somewhat unreliable, especially after repeated use.
The invention is directed to overcoming one or more of the problems and solving one or more of the needs as set forth above.